Egypt is determined that fostering women’s inclusion in all facets of national action represents the only way to attain prosperity and stability.
The last few years have seen remarkable progress in political empowerment and support for Egyptian women.
The government has worked on increasing the percentage of women in parliament from 2% in 2015 to 28% in 2020. This is the largest representation of women in Parliament since they were given the right to stand in the 1957 election. The worldwide average percentage of women in Parliament is 26%.
Egyptian women have obtained a quota of 25% of seats in parliament under the recent 2019 constitutional amendments.
However, the percentage of women in the Senate is 14%, after the president doubled the number of women by appointing female deputies to the House.
Furthermore, there is an increase in the percentage of women in the cabinet from 6% in 2015 to 20% in 2017, then to 25% in 2018, with eight female ministers.
Meanwhile, Egypt ranked second in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) when it comes to women’s representation in the cabinet in 2021. The percentage of women in the position of deputy governor in 2019 amounted to 31%.
In addition, the number of female members in the Administrative Prosecution Authority is 1,988 judges out of 4635, 43% of which are women.
Thus, five women held the position of head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority.
The state has appointed a female deputy judge to the Supreme Constitutional Court in 2020, the second woman to be appointed to this position since the establishment of the court in 1969.
According to a recent cabinet report, women’s political rights in legislative councils include increasing women’s representation in the House of Deputies to 165 seats in 2022, up from 9 seats in 2012, as well as increasing women’s representation in the Senate to 41 seats in 2022, up from 12 seats in 2012.
In implementing the objectives of the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said has emphasized the importance of supporting and empowering women by providing all economic, social, and political opportunities that qualify them to upgrade their capabilities.
Women in various countries of the world, especially Arab women, have always proven that they are capable of facing the increasing global challenges, starting with the Covid-19 epidemic, to the successive geopolitical crises that the world is currently witnessing, el-Saeed said in recent press statements.
Egypt believes in empowering women, which has become an approach rooted in the country’s development orientation through the launch of the Gender Responsive Planning Guide, which aims to integrate the social dimension into all development plans.
El-Saeed added that the state is also working to support women economically, politically, and socially through many projects and initiatives such as the Decent Life initiative which plays an important role in improving the living conditions of Egyptian women.
The initiative contributes to improving the quality of life for 34 M women due to the provision of good health services, decent housing, and job opportunities.
The national project for the development of the Egyptian family also enhances efforts to improve the status of women.
